Book-Editing & Audio Biographies

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. Some wonder: "Whatever Happened to NEWSLETTERS?" From 1982 to 2010, I edited, and mostly wrote, seven different newsletters, no two at the same time. Here's the short course on how the classic newsletter's value has dwindled...

(1) If you have niched expertise and are half-deserving of a soapbox, you are better off with a "blog"; (2) if you are a medium to large company selling various products, all you need is your website and a Facebook platform; (3) if you are a smaller non-profit putting on events and taking donations on-line, the publishing track would be identical to #2; (4) if you are an extended family needing to keep dozens of folks in the loop for basic information, try "group e-mail," which is free, keeps out strangers, and needs no editor; (5) if you are a collaborative assembly with multiple affiliations working on a non-top-secret writing project that has a deadline, group e-mail is also your best platform...

And (6): If you still want to put out a newsletter -- even one that would be *mailed* to subscribers who *pay* for specialized content -- call Frank Gregorsky at 703 281-1674. In rare cases, they do have their uses.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. For nonfiction BOOK-production, it stands out due to rigorous research and my tendency to figure out the right questions (I'm allergic to glibness and errors).

When it comes to AUDIO history projects for families, my interviewing and digital editing skills make converts. "In 2003 I asked Frank to interview my parents," wrote Don Morrissey in '09. "I was ecstatic over the product and my four siblings liked it too. Our father recently died and my sisters told me that listening again to a wonderfully edited and presented life story brought them solace and joy during a tough time..." (You can see packages and pricing at InterviewYourParents dot-com.)

Thanks for tuning in, and kudos to Thumbtack for building a user-friendly platform that sparkles.

Q. Write your own question and answer it.

A. "Which nonfiction writers have you worked with, and what about organizations that do serious research?" Think-tank assignments: The Hudson Institute, Progress & Freedom Foundation, Discovery Institute (in Seattle), Bionomics Institute, and Public Governance Institute -- trends, policy analysis, conferences, books.

Authors worked for and with: Ira Chaleff, Jerome F. Climer, Esther Dyson, George Gilder, Newt Gingrich, Fran Kick, Michael Rothschild, Andrea Schara, Julian Simon, Strauss and Howe (research director for their "Millennials Rising"), and Alvin Toffler.

Longest original work: "Women Business-Owners in Post-Corporate America" (Joint Economic Committee of Congress, 1997). Based on 50 interviews, it was one of the more innovative analyses of the surge in entrepreneurship by females.